Vote NO! on April 22nd election for South County/Regional Fire Authority annexation.

Hit the pause button! Avoid huge local property tax increase. Force Mayor and Council to do proper due diligence on lower cost fire/ems alternatives.

This i-Petition is supported by a large number of Edmonds’ concerned citizens. We believe that the Mayor and Council need to hear from a critical mass of residents who are tired of incessant South County Regional Fire Authority (RFA) service price increases and who oppose annexation into the RFA.

The RFA has had a ‘cost plus profit’ contract with the City of Edmonds since 2010. This was a fair contract for both parties as it allowed price increases based on actual cost increases. But the contract price was increased 50% between 2019 and 2023, with no cost increase justification and no increase in services or faster 911 response. The RFA unilaterally cancelled the contract effective 12/31/2025. The RFA is now using its monopoly pricing powers to increase prices from $12 million/yr for 2025 to over $21 million/yr starting January 2026 - a 75% increase, with no change in service levels! The RFA has committed to provide the same level of fire/ems services even if you Vote No! on annexation.

The RFA wants to annex Edmonds into its territory and collect taxes directly from Edmonds property owners. You will be double taxed as the City intends to keep $6M in taxes that you currently pay to the City for fire/ems services! A homeowner in Edmonds whose house has an assessed value of $1M will pay about $960 more in taxes per year for the same level of service after annexation. The RFA’s operating budget and reserve fund will simply get bigger. Why would anyone vote for annexation?

In December 2024, the City Council approved an RFA annexation ballot measure for the April 22, 2025 special election that will give voters the chance to approve or reject RFA annexation and its huge tax increase. Once annexed, Edmonds’ residents have little influence over the RFA budget or operation, since our Board position will reflect our 14% share of the annexed customer base. Once annexed we cannot easily reverse the decision.

Please sign this i-Petition and tell the Mayor and Council to stop advocating for annexation. Tell them that you want reasonably priced Fire/Ems service - either with Edmonds' own fire department, a contract with another city, or a contract with a different fire district. Tell the Mayor and Council that you want them to do proper due diligence and evaluate and implement a Fire/Ems service strategy where we have more control over costs and levels of service.

We have no complaints with the first responders themselves. This i-Petition is needed to call out RFA management who have not managed Fire/Ems operations efficiently. They have not managed costs nor delivered on any economies of scale after multiple annexations. They have not implemented a dedicated paramedic staff to respond more efficiently to 85% of all 911 calls that are for medical emergencies. Because Edmonds owns its fire stations and has rights to buy back our fire engines from the RFA, we have an opportunity to establish an efficient and lower cost Fire/EMS service and save $8M per year. The Council has not evaluated alternatives nor completed any pro-forma financial analyses. Instead, they spent $64,000 of your tax dollars on a PR contract to 'sell' the benefits of RFA annexation. They're spending $200,000 for the County to provide voter pamphlets and election tabulation for the April 22nd special election! All that money should have been spent for due diligence on lower cost Fire/Ems service alternatives that can provide excellent Fire/Ems services and control future cost increases better than the RFA.

After signing this i-Petition, please share it with your friends and neighbors and ask them to sign soon. All voting-eligible members of your household should be invited to sign the petition.

We can do better! Please visit our concerned citizens' website - https://edmondscandobetter.org to see FAQs and learn more about the reasons to Vote No! on RFA annexation. Take note of the signers of this petition and the endorser list on our website. We have many community leaders who are supporting a No Vote on RFA annexation.

Click on the following My Edmonds News articles that cover different issues with RFA annexation and include many citizen comments:

https://myedmondsnews.com/2025/03/how-would-regional-fire-authority-annexation-impact-my-tax-bill/?mc_cid=83bed1be14&mc_eid=20737d041c

https://myedmondsnews.com/2024/12/reader-view-taxe...

https://myedmondsnews.com/2025/02/council-rejects-...

https://myedmondsnews.com/2025/02/reader-view-opin...

https://myedmondsnews.com/2025/01/letter-to-the-ed...

Feel free to send a Public Comment to the Council to emphasize your concerns -

https://www.edmondswa.gov/government/city_council/online_public_comment

Please note that the i-Petition 'Donate' button goes to i-Petition app developers, not to our citizens group.